"Child is the father of brands"

CHILD IS THE FATHER OF BRANDS

BRANDS….Brand is the "name, term, design, symbol, or any other feature that identifies one seller's product distinct from those of other sellers….

 By the 1940s, manufacturers began to recognize the way in which consumers were developing relationships with their brands in a social/psychological/anthropological sense.

Manufacturers quickly learned to build their brands' identity and personality such as youthfulness, fun or luxury. This began the practice we now know as "branding" today, where the consumers buy "the brand" instead of the product.

THE INFLUENCE OF BRANDS ON CHILDREN

The impact of brands on teenagers and adults is a well-researched field, but far less is understood about their impact on children. 

 Children as young as five years old are so driven by consumerism and fashion.

The research highlighted three important findings. It is clear that even at this age brands and logos are highly important to some children –

The study noted the influence of Family attitudes, Peer pressure and Celebrity culture

Second, it found that even very young children have a great deal of knowledge about the clothing retail sector and they know exactly which shops will sell the kind of clothing they want.

Finally, the study noted a strong association between family culture and the value children placed on brands and logos.

KIDS’ WEAR MARKET TO TOUCH RS 3,800 CR

Smart well dressed children are how parents want their kids to be today.

And the upwardly mobile parent is willing to pay that extra to ensure their child is well turned out. This is being reflected in the growth of children’s apparel industry which is being estimated at Rs 26,300 crores, with 15.4 per cent share of the total apparel market.

This was revealed in a report titled ‘Children’s Apparel and Footwear Market in India’. The segment is growing at 17 per cent and is expected to touch Rs 30,800 crores this fiscal. Within the segment niche categories like infant, formal and ethnic wear, casual wear etc are presenting retailers a great opportunity.

The organized kids’ apparel segment is estimated at around Rs 3,000 crores with 5.3 per cent of the overall organized apparel market but it is growing at an estimated 24 to 25 per cent and is expected to reach Rs 3,800 crores by 2011-12. The catalysts for this growth are: rapid expansion of domestic players and influx of new players both domestic and global in this segment.

Lilliput is the largest player with an estimated market

share of 14.3 per cent followed by Gini & Jony at

11 per cent and Catmoss at 7 per cent.

INTRODUCTIONGini & Jony is an Indian kid's fashion brand, promoted by the Lakhani brothers, since 1980. 

The brand sells apparel through a mix of company-owned and franchisee outlets, and is currently present in 79 cities with 277 exclusive brand outlets. While the promoter group holds the majority stake in the organization, the company is partially owned (22%) by Anil Ambani's Reliance Capital.

STPSegment- Upper middle and upper class urban kids

Target Group- Kids in the age group of 2-12 years

Positioning- A complete fashion brand for the kids

SWOT ANALYSIS

STRENGTH

1. Established in the kids wear segment with over 250 exclusive brand outlets and MBO’s in over 80 cities in India.

2. Founders Lakhani brothers expertise in the retail segment is a major boost for the brand.3. The tie-up with Reliance Capital provides financial stability to the brand.

4. The exclusive seasons collections makes the brand after-sought one in the kids segment.

5. Brand has been awarded with several honors like the Images Fashion award in the kids wear segment for 5 successive years 6. Diversification into other product lines like sunglasses, footwear has helped the brand to be built as complete lifestyle brand for kids

WEAKNESS

1. Predominance of unorganized sector in the kids wear segment.

2. High dependence on cotton for the product is a major issue.

3. Highly fragmented supply chain in the retail sector as a whole has led to several losses

OPPORTUNITY

1. Increasing organized retail space is a great opportunity for expansion in the largely untapped Indian markets.

2. The brand can move to new forms of retailing like online stores for greater brand visibility

3. Going global to tap children internationally

THREATS

1. Primarily an apparel brand the government’ new tax policies on apparel might increase the unit cost

2. Government’s opening of FDI in retail would be a serious threat with the entry of several foreign players in the market

3. The major threat in this segment is that the consumer, the kid is not the influencer and the decision makers are parents, so it solely depends on the influence the brand creates on them

GINI & JONY TARGETS SCHOOL KIDS

Gini & Jony, the high-end kids fashion brand, is going all out to woo its target group. Their strategies coincide with the beginning of the new academic session at schools.

Gini & Jony currently sells brands like Happy Style, GJ Jeans, GJ Baby

 The kids wear brand had teamed up with Shahid Kapoor and Ayesha Takia stars of the Bollywood flick

Paathshaala. According to Kothari “the reason for their association with that particular movie was that it deal with the challenges

being faced by schools, students and parents. The central theme and characters of the movie gel well with the brands current Bag

to School offer.”

IS THE DEPENDENCE OF YOUNG CHILDREN ON FASHION A BAD THING?

Not necessarily, it seems. The acquisition of brands that are in vogue and therefore cool can give great pleasure and act as a bonding between peers in a group. For young people themselves, it is often a matter of image rather than money. Children who do not participate in that culture, however, can be isolated from their peers in a form of social exclusion.